Why is it so difficult to look David in the eye and other secrets of famous works of art

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Art is unique because it “touches the strings in the soul” of each person in a different way. Whatever a work of art means to someone, it will not necessarily mean the same to another person, and points of view can be completely different (and even radically different from what the artist himself meant). Moreover, each piece of art has many interesting stories that accumulate over decades and even centuries. You just have to take a closer look.

1. Portrait of the Arnolfini couple

The portrait of the Arnolfini couple, painted in 1434 by the Dutch artist Jan van Eyck, is considered by art historians to be one of the most important paintings in history, but is also a constant source of controversy. Let's start with the fact that the painting is painted in oil. Today it is quite common practice, but it was quite rare in Western European art of the early 15th century. This allowed Van Eyck to fully unleash his talent for detail in ways rarely seen in other paintings of the time. If you look closely, it's easy to see that the mirror on the back wall reflects the entire room, including two more people standing in the doorway. Curiously, the dog that stands between the couple is not reflected in the reflection. The artist even took into account the distortion of the reflection in the convex mirror.

Incredibly, even the small medallions on the mirror frame depict scenes from the Passion of Christ. However, the most controversial part of the picture is not the mirror, but the couple itself. At the time, it was very unusual to draw people just standing in a room, so historians argue that the painting may have a deeper meaning. In particular, some argue that the painting depicts newlyweds, and the mysterious figures at the door are witnesses. Not everyone agrees with this statement, and experts have long been trying to analyze all the details of the picture: from how the couple holds hands, to how the woman has her hair, to try to establish a relationship between the two people.

2. "Manneken Pis"

Those who have ever been to Brussels must have seen one of the most notable sights in Belgium - the Manneken Pis sculpture. As you might guess from the title, it depicts a little boy peeing into a fountain. Archive records show that the original sculpture was installed in 1388. Then it was a stone statue that served as a public fountain, but it was either destroyed or stolen at some point.

Manneken Pis in its current form was created and installed by the Flemish sculptor Jerome Duquesnoy in 1619. There are many legends about the origin of the sculpture. The most famous of them tells the story of a little boy who saved Brussels when the city was under siege. He did this by urinating on a burning fuse as the enemy tried to blow up the city walls. Another legend has it that the statue actually depicts Duke Gottfried III, Count of Louvain, at the age of two.

According to the story, during the battle, his soldiers put the boy in a basket, which they hung on a tree. From there, Gottfried urinated on the enemy, who eventually lost the battle. Nowadays, the statue is one of the main tourist attractions in the city, and you can often see the Manneken Pis wearing a suit. This is because there has been a tradition since the 18th century to dress the statue in fashionable clothes. Her wardrobe currently consists of over 900 suits.

3. "Garden of earthly delights"

The Garden of Earthly Delights is one of the most complex and ambitious paintings in history. Technically, it is a triptych (three separate panels) painted by the Dutch master Hieronymus Bosch between 1490 and 1510. The left panel shows Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The middle panel shows a rich panorama filled with many characters, both humans and animals. The right panel depicts a dark hellish world. At first glance, Bosch quite clearly depicted heaven, earth and hell, perhaps even as a warning against all the temptations of life. At least that's what most art critics think, but Bosch's works are so filled with complex and abstract images that even 600 years later, people are still discovering something new in his painting. For example, the triptych plays a big role in music, and it depicts numerous characters playing musical instruments in unconventional ways (for example, on flutes inserted between the buttocks).

Musicologists at Oxford recreated some of the instruments in the painting and tried to play them, but found they sound terrible. Just recently, researchers discovered that one of the characters on the panel of hell has notes printed on his fifth point. They were deciphered and recorded as "600-year-old ass song from hell".

4. Tapestry from Bayeux

The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most important artifacts that survived the Middle Ages. It is a 230 meter long canvas embroidered with 50 scenes depicting the battle between William the Conqueror and King Harold during the Norman invasion. Although the tapestry is over 900 years old, it is still in remarkable condition, although the last part is clearly missing. To be pedantic, the Bayeux tapestry is technically not a tapestry. This is embroidery that, although similar to tapestry, uses a different technique. The threads are sewn into the base fabric to form patterns rather than woven on a loom. The old story that the tapestry was made by nuns all over England and then sewn together also seems unlikely.

Modern experts believe that although the characters look different in many scenes, the embroidery technique remains the same. This led them to conclude that the tapestry was probably made by a team of experienced seamstresses. The biggest mystery surrounding the tapestry remains its origin. William's brother, Bishop Odo, has long been considered the most likely "candidate" for the tapestry. However, according to recent theory, it is possible that Edith Godwinson, the sister of the defeated Harold, similarly tried to win the favor of the new king.

5. Perseus with the head of Medusa

If you visit Piazza della Signoria in Florence, you can see a stunning "exhibition" of Renaissance art. The square contains a significant collection of priceless statues, including "Hercules and Cacus" by Bandinelli, "The Rape of the Sabine Women" by Giambologna and "Medici Lions". However, the statue that attracts the most attention is without doubt Cellini's masterpiece Perseus with the Head of Medusa. The title of the piece is pretty obvious. Cellini portrayed a triumphant Perseus lifting the severed head of Medusa into the air, with her lifeless body at his feet. This story is popular in Greek mythology and still resonates with the public today.

The statue was commissioned by Cosimo I de Medici when he became Grand Duke and was opened to the public in 1554. Then "Perseus" was installed on the square with the aforementioned statue of Hercules, "David" by Michelangelo and "Judith and Holofernes" by Donatello. Nevertheless, while the statues of Michelangelo and Donatello were taken to museums, and their copies were installed on the square, the original "Perseus" remained on the square for almost 500 years, only occasionally undergoing restoration. Cellini found a strange way to sign his work (other than putting his name on Perseus's belt). If you look at the head of Perseus from behind, you can see that his helmet and hair form his face and beard. Although not a perfect resemblance, many agree that he portrayed himself on the back of the hero's head.

6. Bust of Lenin

Lenin's bust is not all that surprising. In the last century, a huge number of them were installed all over the world. What makes this bust special is the place where it is installed - Antarctica. To be more precise, it is located at the "Pole of Inaccessibility", the most distant place at the South Pole. During the Cold War, the Americans built a research station at the South Pole. In an effort to keep up, the USSR also built its own station in 1958, and they did it in the most inaccessible place they could find. Scientists stayed there for only a few weeks, and then left the station, setting up a bust of Lenin near the exit. Over the next decade, several new expeditions arrived at the research station, the last of them in 1967. After that, the station and the bust were forgotten for 40 years. In 2007, a Canadian-British Antarctic research team wanted to set the record by being the first to reach the Pole of Inaccessibility on foot. After a 49-day march, they reached their destination, where they were greeted by the only thing left of the station - a bust of Lenin. Everything else was covered in snow.

7. "Adoration of the Magi"

The "Adoration of the Magi" is commonly referred to as the famous biblical scene when the three wise men followed the star to bring gifts to the baby Jesus. The scene has been widely used in art, and many great artists have written their own versions, including Botticelli, Rembrandt, Leonardo, and Rubens. But now we are talking about Giotto, an Italian artist of the 13th century, whose own version of "Adoration of the Magi" is considered one of his greatest masterpieces. Of particular note is the Star of Bethlehem, which, according to some experts, Giotto drew on the model of Halley's comet, which he could have seen the day before. The timing is right. Giotto finished the painting in 1305 and started it around 1303.

Halley's comet passed Earth in 1301, so it is possible that Giotto could see it and get inspired. However, even if this is the case, Giotto was not the first to depict the comet. The aforementioned Bayeux tapestry also shows the passage of a comet in 1066 just months before the Norman conquest. It seems that people at the European Space Agency are so convinced of the scientific credibility of the painting that they named their mission to explore Halley's comet "Giotto" after the artist.

8. "Declaration of Independence"

John Trumbull's Declaration of Independence is one of the most iconic paintings in US history. Created in 1817, the painting has been in the US Capitol building for almost 200 years and is even depicted on a $ 2 banknote. Because of the title and importance of the painting, many people mistakenly believe that the artwork depicts the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In fact, the canvas depicts a five-member editorial committee headed by Thomas Jefferson (including Ben Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston) presenting the first draft of the declaration to the President of the Continental Congress, John Hancock. The painting depicts 42 of the 56 people who will eventually sign the declaration. Trumbull wanted to include all 56, but he could not find reliable images of the other 14.

Other architectural features of the Independence Hall, where the event took place, were imprecise because they were based on a sketch that Thomas Jefferson made from memory. In the painting, at first glance, it might appear that Thomas Jefferson is stepping on John Adams' foot, and some believe this should symbolize political tensions between the two. However, upon closer inspection, it is revealed that their legs are side by side. The image on the $ 2 bill has been modified to create more space between their legs.

9. "Venus with a mirror"

Diego Velazquez was one of the leading painters of the Spanish Golden Age, and Venus with a Mirror is considered one of his finest works, as well as his most controversial. The theme of the picture is extremely controversial - naked Venus sits with her back to the observer, looking at the viewer from the mirror. As for eroticism, up to this point, much less explicit things were portrayed in art. However, Velazquez completed the painting in 1651, when the Spanish Inquisition considered nudity in art to be "unacceptable." Artists who crossed the line were fined or excommunicated, and their works of art were confiscated.

Just because Velazquez was under the auspices of King Philip IV of Spain, he got away with such "hooliganism", and this is still his only surviving image of a naked woman. The painting has been in the Rockby Park Museum in England for nearly a century, and since 1906 it has moved to the National Gallery in London. Venus with a Mirror made headlines in 1914 when it fell victim to a brutal attack. The perpetrator was the suffragist Mary Richardson, who wanted to destroy something of value in protest against the arrest of Emmeline Pankhurst. She attacked the painting with a knife, inflicting seven long cuts, but the canvas was eventually completely restored.

10. "David"

Michelangelo's David is perhaps the most famous statue in the world. However, not many people looked David in the face. This is due to two reasons. Firstly, the height of the statue is more than 5 meters, and secondly, it is located opposite a column in the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence since 1873. From the outside, David looks impressive and confident. However, upon closer inspection, his gaze betrays nervousness, aggression and even fear. Michelangelo obviously did not accidentally make such an expression on his face, so today scientists believe that the statue depicts David preparing to fight Goliath. This is confirmed by the statement of other researchers that David is holding a weapon in his right hand, most likely a sling.

Two Florentine doctors examined David and were amazed at the level of detail on the statue. The tension in the muscles of the right leg, the tense muscles between the eyebrows and the swollen nostrils - all this corresponds to the fact that David is preparing to throw a stone at the enemy. This finding also explains another characteristic of the statue - the size of the genitals. Most people who see the statue wonder why Michelangelo painted them in such a modest size, given that he made David so imposing in every other way. But anatomically, the shriveled organ perfectly matches the situation when a person is about to fight to the death.